Steinberg Nuendo 3 Operation Manual

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The mixer 10 – 211
These features are very convenient when working with large projects. 
Considering the number of different channel types that can be shown 
in the mixer, they could even be described as necessary!
With the several mixer windows combined with the ability to recall dif-
ferent mixer configurations, you are always able to focus on the task at 
hand and keep window scrolling down to a minimum.
• All the various options for configuring the mixer described in this chap-
ter are identical for all mixer windows. 
What channel types can be shown in the mixer?
The following track based channel types are shown in the mixer:
• Audio
• MIDI
• Effect return channels (FX channel tracks are referred to as effect return 
channels in the mixer). 
• Group channels. 
The order of audio, group, effect return and MIDI channel strips (from 
left to right) in the mixer corresponds to the Project window Track list 
(from the top down). If you reorder tracks of these types in the Track 
list, this will in turn be mirrored in the mixer.
In addition to the above, the following channel types 
are also shown in 
the mixer
:
• Activated ReWire channels (see page 630).
• VST Instrument channels (see the separate PDF document “Working with 
MIDI”).
ReWire channels cannot be reordered and always appear to the right 
of other channels in the main mixer pane (see below). VST instrument 
(VSTi) channels can be reordered in the Track list which will in turn be 
mirrored in the mixer.
Folder, Marker, Video and Automation tracks are not shown in the mixer. 
						

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10 – 212 The mixer
Input and output busses in the mixer
Input and output busses are represented by input and output channels 
in the mixer. They appear in separate “panes” separated by movable 
dividers and with their own horizontal scrollbars. See page 224.
About multichannel audio
Nuendo has full support for surround sound. Each audio channel and 
bus in the mixer can carry up to 12 speaker channels. This means that 
if you have an audio track configured for 5.1 surround sound for exam-
ple, this will have a single channel strip in the mixer, just like mono or 
stereo tracks (although its level meter will have six meter bars, one for 
each speaker channel).
Another thing to note is that the look of a channel strip differs slightly 
depending on how it is routed – mono or stereo tracks routed to a 
surround output bus will have a surround panner control instead of a 
regular pan control, for example. 
						

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The mixer 10 – 213
Configuring the mixer
As mentioned earlier, the mixer windows can be configured in various 
ways to suit your needs and to save screen space. Here follows a run 
through of the various view options (the following descriptions as-
sume that you have an active project containing some tracks):
Normal vs. Extended channel strips
You have the option of selecting normal or extended channel strips 
and whether to show the input and output settings at the top of the 
channel strips. Proceed as follows:
1.Open any of the mixer windows.
The leftmost strip is called the common panel and is always shown in the mixer. This 
contains various global settings and options relating to the mixer. For further info see 
page 223.
In the lower left corner of the common panel you can see a graphic 
representation of a row of three “channel strips”, divided into three 
vertical sections. The three vertical sections indicate what channel 
strip sections are currently visible in the mixer – if a section is lit the 
corresponding panel will be visible in the mixer. 
Here the middle section is dark, but the lower and upper sections are lit. This 
indicates that the mixer will show channel strips with the fader panel (lower section) 
plus the Input/Output settings panel (top section).
2.Click on the middle section so it lights up.
Now the mixer will show the extended panel for all channel strips.
3.You can show or hide the extended and top panels of the channel 
strips by clicking on the corresponding section in the figure.
The fader panel is always shown.
•You can also show or hide the extended and top panels by clicking 
the + and – buttons to the left of each section in the common panel. 
Input/Output settings.
Extended channel strips.
Fader section (cannot be hidden).  
						

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10 – 214 The mixer
The fader panel shows the basic controls – faders, pan controls and 
an associated vertical row of buttons. The extended panel can be set 
to show EQ, effect sends, insert effects, etc. The input/output set-
tings panel contains input and output routing pop-up menus (where 
applicable), along with input phase switches and input gain controls.
A basic channel strip with 
no extended options.A fully extended channel strip 
with the input/output settings 
panel at the top.   
						

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The mixer 10 – 215
Selecting what to display in the extended channel strips
You can select what to display in the extended channel strip either glo-
bally from the common panel, or individually from each channel strip. 
The available options vary depending on the type of channel.
• See page 235 for a description of the various options for audio channels. 
• See page 252 for a description of the various options for MIDI channels.
Selecting globally from the common panel
1.Open any of the mixer windows.
The leftmost strip is called the common panel and is always shown in the mixer. This 
contains various global settings and options relating to the mixer. For further info see 
page 223.
2.Make sure that the extended panel of the mixer is visible.
In the extended area of the common panel you can see a vertical row 
of icons. These act as buttons, and determine globally what is dis-
played in the extended panel for all channel strips in the mixer.
If you place the pointer on an icon a tooltip appears, describing the item.
Clear all views (blank panels)
Show all Inserts
Show all Equalizers
Show all Equalizers as dials
Show all Equalizers as curves
Show all Sends
Show Sends 1-4
Show Sends 5-8
Show Surround Panners (where applicable)
Show all Meters
Show Channel Overview  
						

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10 – 216 The mixer
3.Click on the “Show all Inserts” button (second icon from the top).
Now all channel strips in the mixer will show Insert effect slots in the extended panel.
•As mentioned above, what can be set globally depends on the type of 
channel. 
Channel types that do not support a selected global option will be unaffected.
•If you press [Alt]/[Option] and click one of the global view buttons, in-
put and output channels will be affected as well.
Selecting for individual channels
Each channel strip in the mixer features a View options pop-up, which 
is used for two things:
•To determine what is shown in the extended panel for individual chan-
nels in the mixer.
•To set the “Can Hide” status for individual channels in the mixer.
This is described on page 218.
The View options pop-up is opened by clicking the down arrow lo-
cated just above the fader panel of the channel strip.
•To select what to display in the extended panel from the View options 
pop-up you must first open the extended mixer.
You can then use the pop-up to select what parameters to show in the extended panel 
for each individual channel in the mixer.  
						

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The mixer 10 – 217
Setting the width of channel strips
Each channel strip’s width can be sized to either “Wide” or “Narrow” 
mode by using the Narrow/Wide button. This is the two left/right arrows 
just above the fader strip (to the left of the View options pop-up).
The Narrow/Wide button
•Narrow channel strips contain a narrow fader, miniature buttons, plus 
the View options pop-up.
If you have selected to show parameters in the extended section, only the channel 
overview is shown in narrow mode. (The parameters will be shown again when you 
return to wide mode.)
Wide and narrow channel strips
•When selecting wide or narrow channel strips from the common 
panel View options pop-up, all channel strips are affected.   
						

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10 – 218 The mixer
Selecting what channel types to show/hide
You can specify what channel types to show or hide in the mixer. In 
the lower part of the common panel you find a vertical strip with differ-
ent indicator buttons. Each indicator represents a channel type to 
show or hide in the mixer:
•To hide or show a channel type, click the corresponding indicator.
If an indicator is dark, the corresponding channel type will be shown in the mixer. If it is 
orange, the corresponding channel type will be hidden.
Selecting individual channels to show/hide
You can also show/hide individual channels of any type in the mixer. 
This is done by first assigning channels a “Can Hide” status. After 
having done so you can hide all channels assigned this status at any 
time. Proceed as follows:
1.Pull down the View options pop-up menu for the channel you want to 
hide and activate the “Can Hide” option.
Input Channels
Audio Channels
Group Channels
ReWire Channels
MIDI Channels
VST Instrument Channels
Effect Return Channels
Output Channels
For hiding individual channels – see below.    
						

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The mixer 10 – 219
2.Repeat this for all channels you want to hide.
3.Click the bottom “hide button” in the common panel.
This hides all channels set to “Can Hide”. To show them, click the button again.
Channel view sets
Channel view sets are saved configurations of the mixer windows, al-
lowing you to quickly switch between different layouts for the mixer. 
Proceed as follows:
1.Set up the mixer the way you wish to store it as a view set.
The following settings will be stored:
• Settings for individual channel strips (e. g. narrow or wide mode and whether 
the channel strip is (or can be) hidden or not).
• The hide/show status for channel types.
• The mixer’s display status (fader panel, extended panel, input/output panel
• Settings for what is shown in the extended view of the mixer.
2.Click the “Store View Set” button (the plus sign) at the top of the 
(non-extended) common panel.
3.A dialog appears, allowing you to type in a name for the view set.
Do so and click OK to store the current mixer view set.
•You can now return to this stored configuration at any time, by clicking 
the “Select Channel View Set” button (the down arrow at the top of 
the common panel) and selecting it from the pop-up menu.
•To remove a stored channel view set, select it and click the “Remove 
View Set” button (the minus sign).
Some remote control devices (such as Steinberg’s Houston) feature 
this function, which means that you can use the remote device to switch 
between the channel view sets.  
						

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10 – 220 The mixer
The audio channel strips
The mixer in normal mode (faders and input/output settings panel visible), showing 
(from left to right): the common panel, a VST Instrument channel, a stereo audio 
channel, an effect return channel and a group channel strip.
All audio related channel types (audio, input/output channels, group, 
effect return, VST Instrument or ReWire) basically have the same 
channel strip layout, with the following differences:
• Only audio track channels have an Input Routing pop-up, a Record Enable 
and Monitor button.
• Input channels do not have sends.
• VST Instrument channels have an additional button for opening the instrument’s 
control panel.
The common panel 
(see page 223).Level meter Level fader
Channel automation controlsPan control
Edit button 
(opens the Channel 
Settings window).
Insert/EQ/Send indicators and 
bypass buttons (see below).
Record Enable and Monitor buttons
Channel input/output routing
Channel name field Opens the control panel 
for the VST Instrument.
Channel View 
options pop-up
Input Gain control
The speaker configu-
ration for the channel.
Input Phase switch